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'Moving parts' cloud Peavy deal

New owners for Cubs, Padres could slow talks

New owners could call shots on Jake Peavy trade

January 08, 2009|By Fred Mitchell

Recent Cubs trades may have positioned the team for another run at San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy. But acquiring the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner may hinge on new ownership for both franchises.

"We all understood that there was some sort of framework [for a trade] in place," said Barry Axelrod, Peavy's San Diego-based agent. "There was an effort on the Cubs' part [during the winter meetings] to come up with the pieces they needed to fill out that framework."

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry traded Mark DeRosa to Cleveland for three minor-league prospects and Jason Marquis was dealt to Colorado along with $875,000 for reliever Luis Vizcaino. Both trades cleared substantial salary space for further acquisitions.

"[Hendry] seems to be open to anything," Axelrod said. "There are some GMs you deal with who are all paralyzed by their caution and analysis. Jim is willing to get out there and make things happen. So I wouldn't put anything past him of any kind."

The proposed sales of the Padres and Cubs could determine a possible Peavy deal.

"[Jeffrey] Moorad made a pointed statement when asked if this would have anything to do with the Peavy situation. He said something like, 'It would be erroneous to assume that,'" Axelrod said of the former Diamondbacks head who leads the group with exclusive rights to negotiate for the Padres.

If the Padres' new owners can't afford Peavy's hefty salary, a trade still would appear feasible.

"[Given the ownership situations,] it's hard to imagine anything being completed within the first quarter of this year," Axelrod said. "Moorad [supposedly] has an exclusive negotiating window. [But] new ownership doesn't necessarily mean they are going to have unlimited funds to upgrade their payroll. It might be that they spend all of their money buying the franchise and don't have money to upgrade.

"There are a lot of moving parts. The ownership situation in Chicago, that is a moving part, as well. Nobody knows whether new [Cubs] ownership would approve taking on Peavy's contract. There is a lot of uncertainty."

Word on the street: The Cardinals were hosts for an NFL playoff victory last weekend in Arizona for the first time since the franchise won the 1947 NFL championship at Comiskey Park over the Eagles.

Don Stonesifer was a receiver on the Chicago Cardinals from 1951-56 and had 231 receptions.

"I grew up in Chicago and I lived in Logan Square -- just 25 minutes from Wrigley Field," Stonesifer said. "My father was the biggest Bears fan in Chicago. He was a linotype operator for the Tribune. When I was drafted by the Cardinals, my father said: 'I hope you play well and I will be pulling for you, except when you play the Bears.'"

Stonesifer was an All-American end at Northwestern before the Cardinals drafted him and he was teammates with several players from the '47 team.

"I played with Elmer Angsman, Charlie Trippi and Chet Bulger. We drew well, but the Cardinals were never as big time as the Bears, publicity-wise," Stonesifer said.

Local attractions: Mayor Richard M. Daley and Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz are scheduled to be among the first guests in the debut Monday of CSN's morning sports talk show with hosts Mike North and Dan Jiggetts. ... The Gary Old Timers Athletic Association annual gala features Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus along with Chicago comedian Jimmy McHugh on Wednesday at the Avalon Manor Banquet facility.